by Gene Stansel

On Christmas Eve, we attended a special candlelight service at a church in Philadelphia, PA, which was founded by the Reverend Jack Miller, a Presbyterian minister who taught practical theology at Westminster Theological Seminary and who also founded World Harvest Missions. Although Rev. Miller died several years ago, his warm evangelical spirit pervaded the congregation as well as the worship service that night. After brief welcoming remarks, only Bible readings and Christmas carols were heard. The service was tranquil and worshipful much like the familiar “Lessons and Carols” programs our choir has performed on past Christmases in Greenwood. Without prompting or hesitation, church members read the Scriptures while the congregation provided the singing. There was something about the solemnity of the worship that activated my thoughts and penetrated my conscience.

As familiar passages were read by individuals, small children, families, and groups of youth, I thought to myself, what do unbelievers think about the Christmas story? Does it sound weird for them? A foreign couple entered the building and sat just to my right. They told me before the program began that they were visitors and did not attend church regularly. I thought, how are they taking this? Does the story of a young teenage girl giving birth to a baby although she did not “know” a man sound like a carefully constructed legend? How incomprehensible that a newborn baby could actually be God Himself! The story only got more complicated when the scripture readers revealed that the child would one day be a willing sacrifice for the sins of the world. The couple beside me could barely speak English. Had they heard this story before? Or, was it for them just poppycock?

In the quietness of the dimly lit church, my thoughts suddenly turned inward. So, what makes me believe this incredible story? And moreover, why would any logical thinking person accept such an incomprehensible tale? What made it plausible for me? A verse suddenly popped into my head: “Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift” (II Corinthians 9:15). I’ve always considered the “unspeakable gift” cited in that verse to be the baby Jesus, but could there be something else? The Christmas story truly defies logic. Why do I believe it?

We sang a hymn:

Thou didst leave thy throne and thy kingly crown,
When Thou camest to earth for me;
But in Bethlehem’s home there was found no room
For thy holy nativity.

What a wonderfully constructed hymn! In fact, it was easy to understand. It told a story. And, I recognized the poetic emphasis, just like when we were small children and mother would read fairy tales and stories and poetry about topics that were so fantastic that they stretched our imagination and made us beg for more. The hymn followed the story of a baby who grew up to be a great teacher and healer, one who left a beautiful kingdom filled with light and happiness, only to face conflict and suffering in a dark and sinful world. Instantly, the hero of the hymn became like the classic hero of literature, like Odysseus, Beowulf, Childe Harold, Superman or even Luke Skywalker.

In literature, classic heroes always assume incredible challenges and terribly difficult missions. They fight on the side of right and good against evil forces. But, somehow, when the dust settles and all of the confusion and suffering is finally over… somehow the hero returns as a conquering prince or potentate. As children, we always anticipated the end of the story when the hero returns. We loved those heroes. So, what was it about the hero in the hymn that moved me so deeply? Was there a connection between those childhood fantasies and the story of Christmas? I believe there was. I realized that the hymn actually told a story. It had a progression. Indeed it seemed almost like one of stories that were read to us as children. Was it possible that the foreign couple sitting next to me were able to make that connection too? Had they also enjoyed fantasies when they were children? Perhaps their culture forced them into the automatic rhythm of the computer age with its staccato stories and phrases. I wondered if they could appreciate the beautiful ebb and flow of the hymn.

More scripture and more hymns followed, and I was completely mesmerized. The quietness and the solemnity of the place began to work on me. Was it the “unspeakable gift” of Christ Himself that was so difficult to understand? (For any reasonable thinking person, I believe that the story of Christ’s birth is truly difficult to digest, because it’s a mystery, and scientific-minded people don’t easily receive mysteries). Or, was it the fact that years ago I embraced the story hook line and sinker? In fact, to me, the whole narrative of the Bible is convincing all by itself. And, if one were to read the Bible straight through, by the time they finished reading the Old Testament, that person would be thoroughly primed and ready for the promised savior, in whatever form he came to earth. So, why not simply tell people to read the story for themselves? It’s such a great story, certainly you would believe it. Maybe I should have told that to the foreign couple sitting next to me, “Read the story…it’s all there, and God planned it all. You see, God had to plan it, because no mere man could come up with a story like that, not Hans Christian Anderson or all of the world’s writers of classic literature put together”.

As the service drew to a close and I emerged from my deep contemplative stupor, I thought…I really do believe the story as incredible as it is. I believe it! I must be alive! My fist came down hard onto my leg until I felt the pain. I even wished the feeling of “aliveness” for the foreign couple who were now rising to leave the service. Perhaps they were alive too, and I just did not realize it. It was at that very moment that it all came together for me. It made perfect sense. The gift that God had given me years ago now came into focus. You see, the “unspeakable gift” is not only the person of the Lord Jesus Himself, as indescribable and as incomprehensible as the nativity story is. The truly incredible story, the story that is so difficult for the world to comprehend, is the fact that there are those just like me, who believe it. My whole journey through fairy tales and odysseys had worked to convince me that the real hero that I always loved was Jesus. Wow, how incredible is that? And, it’s often inexpressible for me to try to explain that the God who I cannot see became man who I can. And I know, as incomprehensible as it may seem, someday I will actually see my Conquering Hero in the flesh. I went to bed that night, and I thanked God once again for His “unspeakable gift” …of Jesus…and…for the faith to believe His Story.